A local rain ritual is now being conducted at Mandalika as MotoGP race start continues to be delayed due to thunderstorms.

A woman was seen walking down pit lane apparently striking a metallic object and shouting which, according to world feed commentators, is a ‘rain handler’.

The Indonesian Grand Prix was due to get underway at 15:00 local time/18:00 AEDT, only for the heavens to open around 40 minutes before such time.

A rescheduled start time of 15:10 local was abandoned when rain continued to pour down, and a thunderbolt was even seen hitting the circuit.

Race Direction’s last updated advised that pit lane will now not open before 15:45 local time/18:45 AEDT, with the next update due at around 18:35 AEDT.

The distance had already been reduced from 27 laps to 20, in a decision taken earlier in the afternoon, due to concerns over safety.

Marc Marquez will not take the start after suffering concussion in when he highsided his Repsol Honda in horrific fashion during the Warm Up.

In other dramas, pole-sitter Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) dropped an ice cream during the rain delay.